The Institute of Directors Nigeria (IoD) says the Nigerian government needs to improve the nation’s export capacity to earn foreign exchange that will enable it to meet the country’s import bill obligations and bolster its foreign reserve level.
The group also called for a new model of governance in which political leadership would be based on the knowledge and competence of both political leaders and the electorate to drive the country to greatness.
Dr Ije Jidenma, IoD President, made the call at the Institute’s 38th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday in Lagos.
She urged government to address the country’s high-risk business environment to encourage more Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) inflow into the Nigerian economy.
Jidenma noted a recent report by Rand Merchant Bank (RMD), which ranked Nigeria as the second most attractive investment destination in Africa seven years ago, showed that the country had slipped to 14th position.
She said that the country recorded a sum of 6.7 billion dollars as capital inflows from foreign countries in 2021.
The value, the IoD president said, represented a drop of 31 per cent relative to the 9.7 billion dollars received in the previous year leading to the lowest inflows recorded since 2016.
According to her, should the trend of lower foreign inflows continue, it would add to the current pressure on the nation’s external reserve; a situation that could further weaken the exchange rate.
“An overhauled system of governance built on the foundation laid by the nationalist political leaders would help reduce the erosion of public trust in the democratic institutions,’’ she explained.
Jidenma said that reports from the World Governance Index, revealed that Nigeria consistently ranked low in areas such as government effectiveness, political stability and the presence of violence and terrorism, rule of law, and control of corruption.
“At the core of Nigeria’s systemic challenges is the crisis of governance, which manifests in the declining capacity of the state to cope with a range of internal political and social upheavals.
“For the system to work in Nigeria, there must be significant improvement in literacy levels so that citizens are educated about the issues and can use their knowledge to make informed decisions about Nigeria’s political future.
“As the voice of Corporate Governance in Nigeria, the Institute of Directors in 2021 engaged in various advocacy programs in this regard,” she said.
She also tasked government to address the country’s rising public debt, which according to the Debt Management Office (DMO) in its quarterly data series, was at N19.2 trillion equivalent to 11.1 per cent of 2021 GDP.
She said that the size of the government’s borrowings was likely to exert upward pressure on market yields in the second half of 2022.
Jidenma revealed that IoD under her administration recorded a total income of N428,314,375 in 2021 against the N239,246, 926 of 2020, translating to a 79 per cent increase.
She added that the institute continued to wax strong in spite of the challenges of the prevailing economic and social environment in Nigeria.
“The Institute has achieved a lot from our collaborative efforts and partnerships in the year under review.
“Our relevance in the Nigerian business community through advocacy for corporate governance and ethical business behaviour in the public and private sectors has continued to soar.
“We owe our past leaders a debt of gratitude, and I think their legacies and achievements will be best preserved if we all continue to join hands to maintain an enduring institution that conforms to best global practices and standards.
“As we continue to implement and fine-tune our 5-year strategic plan, there is no doubt that IoD is an organisation in transition,” she said.
She pledged the Institute’s readiness to continue to leverage its existing strategic partnerships and alliances with professional organisations, to explore and deepen networking and information flow opportunities.
“We are also forging new strategic alliances needed to accelerate the achievement of our aims to reposition IoD Nigeria for relevance locally and globally,” she said.
